Customer Story

Winstar Properties LLC: Maximize cost savings & increase ROI

Headquarters

Los Angeles, CA

Investment Type

Syndications

Asset Type

Multifamily

Established

2012

Winstar Properties LLC is a full service Real Estate investment and management company with a focus on long-term, value add strategies. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the firm primarily acquires high-potential multifamily properties and enhances property performance via property improvements and intensive management.

AppFolio's hidden value

We sat down with Ricky Flandez of Winstar Properties LLC to discuss the role AppFolio Investment Management helps the company, and their clients, achieve their real estate goals.

How has AppFolio Investment Management helped you control costs?

When I came on board, we had quite a bit of overhead. Winstar was going through tremendous growth, and we needed to staff that growth, and by doing so, our overhead was a lot more than it should have been.

So, one of the things I did when I came on board was look at the operating costs. Control internal costs, and you control your market. The market will react regardless to what the variables are, but if you control your internal costs, those variables will always generate profits for you because you can pivot your internal costs to adjust to those external costs. I recognized immediately we were not using AppFolio Investment Management Software to the fullest extent.

After we adapted our workflow, bringing AppFolio usage to about 90%, we started realizing real cost savings. Embracing the technology means our accounting department with three staff members does the work of 10 accountants and a few clerks. Using the technology to maximize efficiency and productivity means we do more, with a lot less overhead.

Using the technology to maximize efficiency and productivity means we do more, with a lot less overhead.

Ricky Flandez,Winstar Properties LLC

A rectangle made out of light blue dots.

Downtown Los Angeles California with palm trees in the foreground.

How has your company evolved since you started using AppFolio Investment Management?

One thing is that we're seeing new investors shopping for us, rather than us spending a large amount shopping for them. We have a reliable platform, and our returns are more favorable than market returns because we can execute efficiently. One reason for that efficiency is that we use AppFolio Investment Management to maximize operation, and minimize cost. One of the things we totally love about AppFolio is the adaptivity features. We do have some unique requests, and time and time again, there is a development team or a response team that helps us be able to pivot to client's requests. This is an essential service. You're more accommodating to us as the client than a lot of other software platforms. You integrate our needs into your business, and that's key to any success of any business.

If you were to recommend AppFolio Investment Management to a colleague, what would you say?

AppFolio provides the tools Winstar needs, and the AppFolio team continuously makes improvements, so I am confident that we will be covered in the future as the industry changes. AppFolio Investment Management really knows their stuff. They know their clients and their needs--and they know what investors need and expect, too.

At Winstar, we value transparency. I am able to be transparent to investors with AppFolio Investment Management. It's easy for me to provide information to my institutional investors, and it's easy for them to access that information online. It bolsters trust and provides a seamless, transparent connection between all stakeholders. Today 99% of our investments have exceeded underwriting expectations, and I believe we owe a lot of that success to intensive management and AppFolio.